Dan Swimer

Crims is a sitcom about Welsh nice guy Luke, played by stand up Elis James, who is unfairly sentenced to two years in a young offenders institution as a result of his moronic friend (the brother of Luke’s girlfriend), Jason (Kadiff Kirwan) getting him involved in a failed bank robbery. These two unlikely friends are now forced to spend all of their time together, as a result of sharing a cell, and simultaneously try to keep their heads down as well as ending up on the frontline of all manners of trouble.

Luke, or “Lulu”, as Jason calls him, is your typical antihero. He is meek and frustratingly stubborn, but an increasingly likeable character nonetheless. Jason, on the other hand, is an endearing idiot, who we can forgive for all his wrongs because he is oblivious, and very funny as a result. It’s fair to say that Luke and Jason are unlikely protagonists, their personalities are polar opposites and they bicker like an old married couple.

A hilarious backstory between prison officers Dawn (Cariad Lloyd) and Creg (Ricky Champ) provides a refreshing side-narrative that develops with each episode. Creg’s incessant stalking of Dawn also adds a sinister element to Crims, and, mark my love of shows like The Mighty Boosh, Snuff Box and The League of Gentlemen, you can see why I’m a fan.

The writing from Adam Kay and Dan Swimer is excellent; the characters come together effortlessly and there is no room for boredom in a jam-packed 30 minute episode. Crims has a brilliant cast, including Theo Barklem-Biggs as Twilight-obsessed thug, Marcel, Ed Kear as ‘Black Elton John’, Selom Awadzi as Daz, and Jamal Hadjkura as the prison-snitch, Isaac. And appearances from the likes of the fantastic Tracy Ann-Oberman and Sylvester Mccoy make a great addition to the cast too.

This brand new sitcom has proven itself to be highly original, witty and accessible, and I hope there are more series to come.